Oil well spider



March 21, 1939 F H|N|KER 2,151,208

OIL WELL SPIDER Filed Feb. 12, 1938 i N N n A N I:

. Q IN VENTOR B1 H ilz cer AORNEY Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to pipe spiders for oil wells and the like, and particularly represents an improvement over the structure shown in my Patent No. 2,063,378, dated December 8, 1936, although its usefulness is by no means limited to that particular spider.

In pulling pipe from a well, the slips are necessarily spread to allow the sections of pipe and their coupling collars to pass through the slips. Under certain conditions however, as when uncoupling sections above the spider, (with the slips again closed about the pipe) the uncoupled stand when elevated is liable to momentarily lift the whole string below. This causes the slips to spread, and the string is apt to then drop through the spider to the bottom of the well. This, of course, is a highly undesirable occurrence, as those in the industry well know.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to eliminate the possibility of such occurrences by the provision of spring means applied to the slips in such a manner that the slips will automatically tend to move to and remain in a pipe clamping position so that slippage and loss of pipe is prevented. At the same time, there is no interference with any intentional raising or spreading of the slips.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

The figure on the drawing is a transverse section of a spider showing my improved spring means applied thereto.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, the spider here illustrated is generally the same, both in construction and operation, as that shown and described in said aforementioned patent. It comprises essentially a body I upstanding from a flat base 2 and having a taper bore 3 in which the segmental slips 4 slidably fit.

The slips are raised and lowered by means of a substantially horizontal Y-shaped lever overhanging the slips from the back of the body. This lever comprises the spaced slip engaging legs 5 and a handle 6 projecting from their point of junction. A boss I rigid with the body projects between the legs and supports the pivot pin 8 of the lever. The manner in which the lever is connected to the slips is clearly shown and. described in my previous patent, so that further showing and description is unnecessary here.

When the lever handle is depressed to a predetermined point, the slips are fully spread. When the lever is in such position, a catch notch 5 9 on a hand released catch arm I0 engages over a catch lug H on the lever. The arm is pivoted at its lower end in connection with the body just back of boss 1, and projecting between the legs of the lever just in front of their junction with 10 the handle.

Thus far, the structure described is substantially the same as that of the aforementioned patent.

The improved slip closing feature of the in- 15 vention comprises a compression spring I2. The upper end of this spring is supported by and rocks on a round-edged crossbar M on the under side of the handle near the adjacent end of leg and is located against displacement from the member 20 by a boss 15 depending centrally from the crossbar. The lower portion of the spring is surrounded by a sleeve or socket I6 mounted on and upstanding from an extension I! of the base 2, the spring at the bottom resting on said ex- 5 tension. The sleeve at the bottom is provided with drain openings l8 for sand, oil, etc. The purpose of the sleeve is to enable a relatively long spring to be used without danger of the spring buckling when compressed by depression 30 of the lever. It also serves as a protector for the major portion of the spring.

By reason of this spring, arranged as described,

a constant but yieldable closing pressure is always exerted on the slips as soon as the catch arm I0 5 is released from the lever. At the same time it obviously does not prevent upward and spreading movement of the slips due to frictional engagement of the slips with a pipe string being pulled.

In addition to the above function, the spring 40 attachment prevents rebound of the slips and pipe when the pipe has been accidentally dropped into the spider. The slips, being always engaged with the pipe, form a wiper for fluid adhering to the pipe, thus keeping any such fluid below the 45 floor level.

Also, the spring instantly arrests downward movement of the pipe if the truck and pulling machine ascend and the clutch is released. The human element of possible inefliciency or care- 50 lessness is thus entirely eliminated, and the spring acts as a safeguard in one way or another the entire time the rig is being operated.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as sub- 5 stantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pipe spider comprising a body having a bore, slips movable vertically in the bore, a lever, means pivoting the lever intermediate its ends on the body, one arm of the lever being applied to the slips to raise and lower the same, a helical compression spring disposed in the plane of relation; there being a boss depending from the cross bar and into said end of the spring to locate the same on the cross bar.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HINIKER. 

